Professional Education Post-Master's Certificate Program in Trauma-Informed Practice with Children and Adolescents
For professionals who improve the lives of children and adolescents through psychosocial interventions, this program imparts the latest knowledge of clinical practice and increases skill sets. The program is designed for social workers, nurses, mental health professionals, school counselors, and others who have earned a master’s degree. The 90 CEU curriculum includes contemporary practice, theories, and intervention techniques.
Post-Master's Certificate Program Application
The Learning Experience
The weekly class meetings are dynamic and interactive. Experienced faculty make didactic presentations. Students work with faculty to research advanced practice approaches and to present their findings at the final class meeting. Students make case presentations and learn to draw on each other's expertise.
Topics covered include:
- Interviewing skills with children and adolescents
- Skills for engaging parents and families
- Developmental approaches: infancy, toddlerhood, middle childhood, and adolescence
- The impact of adult mental illness on parenting
- The influence of race and culture, cultural competence
- Children with mental illness: Depression, anxiety, pervasive developmental disorders, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, and reactive attachment disorder
- Trauma and loss
- Community interventions
- Counseling boys and male adolescents
- Domestic violence
- Psychotropic medication
- Substance abuse
Structure of the Program
Students may enter the certificate program in either the fall or spring. Meetings are held on Wednesday evenings from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Brennan Center, 45 Island Pond Road. Meetings are held for fourteen weeks in each semester.
Program Options
Students may elect to enroll in the program for
- Fall semester only
- Spring semester only
- Both fall and spring semesters
(required to earn the certificate)
Application Deadlines
- Spring semester: January 21
- Fall semester: September 1
Earning the Certificate
Students earn the Certificate in Trauma-Informed Practice with Children and Adolescents once they have completed both semesters of work. Upon completion of the program, students also earn 90 continuing education units awarded by the Springfield College School of Social Work and Behavioral Sciences. Students may enroll in one semester at a time and are awarded continuing education units for the classes attended.
Prerequisites
Applicants must possess a master’s degree in social work, nursing, mental health, school counseling, psychology, or a related field. Applicants must be currently working with children and/or adolescents.
Tuition
- $1,100 per semester
- $30 Nonrefundable Application Fee
FacultyThe faculty who teach in the program work actively with children, adolescents, and their families. Many of the faculty continue to work in practice settings that serve children and adolescents. Faculty who teach in the Certificate Program include: |
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James J. Canning, PhDProfessor, Springfield College School of Social Work and Behavioral Sciences Specialist in child and adolescent development, autism, counseling interventions with children |
Claudia M. Gold, MDPediatrician, Author Specialist in pediatric behavioral and medical interventions |
Anthony Hill, EdDAssistant Professor, Springfield College School of Social Work and Behavioral Sciences Specialist in youth development, school social work, secondary trauma, community engagement |
Efrosini Kokaliari, PhDProfessor, Springfield College School of Social Work and Behavioral Sciences Specialist in trauma, adolescent self-harm |
Lorna Little, MSWExecutive Director, St Agnes Family Center Specialist in counseling pregnant teens and young mothers |
Walter J. Mullin, PhDProfessor, Springfield College School of Social Work and Behavioral Sciences Specialist in child/adult mental health, family interventions, counseling approaches, suicide prevention |
Paul A. Redstone, MDPsychiatrist, Private Practice Specialist in psychopharmacology |
Cecilia Singh, PhDCoordinator of Training, Outpatient Clinical Services/In-Home Clinical Programs, Yale University Specialist in child psychological assessment, parent-child attachment |
Joyce Taylor, PhDAssistant Professor, Springfield College School of Social Work and Behavioral Sciences Specialist in service systems in child welfare, children’s mental health, juvenile justice |
Francine Vecchiolla, PhDDean and Professor, Springfield College School of Social Work and Behavioral Sciences Consultant/collaborator on program development and curriculum design |
Frequently Asked Questions
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